After Nanael leaves I realise I still haven’t told her anything about how I summoned her or anything like that.
Then again considering how she’s gotten a whole team of fallen angels, healing nuns, and mysteriously powerful high school boys, does she really need it?
Honestly it makes me feel a bit inadequate, like damn.
I’ve been busting my balls keeping Kaori and Saeko fed and sheltered, and the angel’s already become head of her own supernatural organisation that’s making a play to take over the town.
It’s a few minutes later when the floating crystal ball before us lights up and shows an image of the gym with Kalawarner and Meguri both standing opposite one another.
Kalawarner’s wearing a turtleneck sweater and a skirt, a golden spear held over her shoulder as she looks across with a cold glare at her high school girl opponent.
Meguri’s in her usual uniform, but she’s holding a sword now, rather like Saeko’s own, and there’s a determined look on her face.
I almost wonder if I should’ve brought a sword of my own, I have a bunch from those skeletons, but it’s not like I really trained with them.
Better to stick with what I know.
“So who do we think’s gonna win?” I ask my companions as if we’re watching a sports game.
The view shifts from wide angle shots to close-ups of their faces, like there’s an actual camera focusing around to keep the audience engaged.
I don’t know if it’s automatic magic or Nanael’s doing it, but it does make it easier to watch despite the odd format of using a crystal ball.
“Just looking at them I want to say Kalawarner,” Kaori says.
“But Meguri’s still a devil despite how she looks, we shouldn’t underestimate her.” “Her stance is good.
I think she can win,” Saeko voices support for her fellow swordswoman, leaving me to make my own choice.
Kalawarner just looks more badass.
And has bigger tits but that’s wholly immaterial other than the fact it gives her more of an aura of maturity and perceived power.
“Yeah I think Kalawarner’s gonna take this one.” As we debate, Nanael’s voice rings out from the crystal ball.
“Welcome everyone to the first battle of the Monarch of Kuoh tournament, where the fate of this town will be decided!
This first match pits Team Nanael against Team Sitri, where the Rising Angel Kalawarner,” the image shows a close-up of her face and she grins smugly, clearly able to hear the commentary, “Faces up against Team Sitri’s Curse-free Exorcist, Tomoe Meguri!” We get to then see Meguri’s smile lighten a little while she leans forward and adjusts her hold on her katana.
“Well they got decent titles,” I say, unable to hide my petulance as I cross my arms in a huff.
“Fighters ready, the match begins… now!” Uncaring of my complaints, Nanael announces the start, and both combatants instantly react.
Black feathered wings fanning behind her, Kalawarner ascends while leaping backwards and hurls her spear with an over the shoulder throw towards Meguri who rushes forward, a clang sounding from her sword sweeping ahead of her and deflecting the projectile.
Black bat-wings emerge from her back and she vaults upwards, aggressively closing in on Kalawarner!
“She’s fast!” Kaori says admiringly at the physical prowess on display.
“She must be one of Sitri-san’s Knights, like Kiba-san.
He displayed phenomenal speed when we trained with them before,” Saeko says, all of us watching as the battle becomes a close-pitched melee, both of them weaving in the air around the gymnasium as Kalawarner summons another spear to try and fend off the fast-moving devil.
It’s quickly clear that Kalawarner is outmatched though.
Contrary to appearances, the cute second year high school girl is able to dominate her more authoritatively mature looking opponent in melee.
Perhaps Kalawarner’s more comfortable fighting at range?
Meguri doesn’t let up on her though, constantly staying inside the reach of that spear and keeping her from exploiting the advantage of a longer weapon.
There does seem to be a difference in power that goes the other way though.
While Meguri’s slashes mount up, cutting through clothes and drawing blood repeatedly, the fallen angel mostly endures it while the one time Kalawarner lands a blow it makes her devil opponent visibly recoil.
“Devils are weak to holy energy, and even fallen angels can still use that,” Kaori says during the brief moment it looks like the fight might turn around.
Whatever pain Meguri might be feeling from the elemental advantage against her type, she still grits her teeth and keeps at it, continuing to press her opponent in close rather than backing off.
It’s the right call, as Kalawarner continues to struggle with the frantic assault until a decisive strike cuts through her guard.
With a cry, the statuesque older woman falls back in an uncontrolled tumble that has her slamming down against the varnished wood floor of the gymnasium.
Her body is enveloped in a shimmer of light and then vanishes, the view focusing on Meguri’s flushed and triumphant face.
“Kalawarner has been defeated!
The Curse-free Exorcist advances to the next round!” Nanael’s voice calls out.
“Don’t worry, Kalawarner’s here with us, Asia-chan’s healing her right now in fact!
Make sure you get healed before your next fight as well, Tomoe-san!” “Un!” the red-headed swordswoman nods with a cheerful noise, landing on the ground and unsummoning her katana.
Handy trick that.
Though as we wait for the next fight to begin, Nanael doesn’t shut up.
“Are you all enjoying this Monarch of Kuoh Tournament?
Does your heart race seeing these brave fighters give it their all?
Do you feel stirred hearing this beautiful angel officiate?
If you do then pray to the Lord in thanks, and mention how Nanael is the best angel when you do!” “I haven’t met any other angels, but come on, she must be the worst one,” I say flatly to my companions.
There’s no argument, and we have a little time to discuss the fight before the next one starts.
The fact almost everyone here is going to be able to fly is a bit of a problem for me, and even Saeko unless she uses her ultimate transformation.
But the size of the gymnasium at least puts a ceiling on it, so it’s not necessarily hopeless.
All the more reason I’ll need to copy Meguri’s tactic and push in aggressively when it’s my turn against her student council colleague.
Soon though movement on the crystal ball gets our attention and we can see Akeno and Shinra emerge from their respective doors into the gym.
Shinra’s now carrying a long bladed spear I’d last seen her wield in Kyoto, while Akeno is unarmed but has traded out her school uniform for her shrine maiden outfit.
“Oh!” I don’t quite manage to keep in the delighted noise that escapes my lips on seeing it.
“You really like that outfit, don’t you?
Though your power’s probably recharging, unless…?” Kaori lets that one float out and I feel my face heat up.
“I do like it!
But- shut up!” I only then realise I just basically turned down an offer for her to get me off.
What has even happened to my life?
Well, watching a supernatural tournament is probably more important than a fairy-granted orgasm, I’ve been getting a lot of those lately after all.
“It’s very traditional.
We’d wear similar clothing for kendo competitions, but the colours are different,” Saeko mentions, just smoothly gliding right over Kaori’s implied offer.
We’ve kind of gotten used to working around each other and not commenting on certain things since we’ve been living together.
It’s a true testament to human adaptability.
“The colour’s a big part of the appeal, that red and white just really pops,” I say, before thinking of how Rias’s hair is the same eye-catching shade.
Yeah, there’s no lie there.
It’s a colour that just demands your attention.
Meanwhile Akeno and Shinra are engaging in some pre-fight banter rather than just staring at each other like the last pair had done.
“Ara, this kind of fight’s a real pain, I can’t even go all out without destroying the gym,” Akeno complains with a titter.
“Preparing your excuses early, Akeno-san?” Shinra asks, a vindictive smile on her lips as she stares down her rival.
“If you need to save face for your president, I can hold still long enough for you to get off one big spell if you like?” “God damn,” I say, impressed at the level of trash talk the student council vice president is capable of.
You usually think of her as a buttoned-up good girl, but she’s got claws!
“That won’t be necessary, Tsubaki-san,” Akeno’s expression loses its mirth, showing she must’ve been annoyed by the suggestion she needs a handicap.
“I’ve got more than enough to deal with you.” “Wow, both our fighters are really fired up for this one!
No surprise, both of them were serious contenders to reach the finals, but one of them’s going to go out in the second match!” Nanael’s cheerful voice echoes out from the crystal.
“But will it be Team Gremory’s Thunder Priestess that goes home in disgrace, or will Team Sitri’s Devil Disciplinarian be serving detention herself?
Fighters ready, and… start!” Shinra’s nickname isn’t great, but that doesn’t stop her from blasting off towards Akeno with a fierce look on her face, the bladed tip of her naginata leading the way.
Akeno herself doesn’t move, all her focus on the several spinning magic circles that form around her and just before Tsubaki reaches her that pays off.
A flurry of lighting strikes hammer into the glasses-wearing devil from every side, surrounding her in a cage of electric fury!
“That’s a lot more than she used against Nanael when she first appeared,” I say, the difference between her off-the-cuff blasts and a proper charged up spell significant.
Shinra cries out as she’s blasted, body seizing up in the air, but she still has the wits to slam the end of her spear into the floor of the gym to act as a ground for the elemental discharge.
More than that, she’s able to formulate a spell of her own, her free hand thrusting forward with a gush of flame that Akeno fends off with a summoned blast of water, steam billowing up between the two.
“Weak!” Shinra yells, the distraction having ended the lightning storm, her hair a bit frizzed and her uniform a bit charred, but otherwise she seems raring to go.
“You’ll never win with such weak lightning, Akeno!” And then she closes the distance, bursting through that rising steam cloud with a swipe of her naginata that forces Akeno to finally dodge, jumping back and up into the air and then hanging in position with her wings bursting out behind her.
Carrying herself aloft near the ceiling of the gym, black bat-like wings suspend her up in the air as she lets out a mocking giggle and lords it over her foe who remains on the ground despite surely being able to fly just as well.
“That one was just a tickle to see how you’d react, Tsubaki-chan.
You made such an adorable yelp for me, too, fufufu,” she merrily taunts down at the glaring devil beneath her.
“She’s bluffing, that was a serious attack,” Kaori states confidently.
At least I hope it’s confidence and she’s not just saying that to make us all feel better about the kind of power devils can throw around.
I’m not sure if I could take it, but that’s just because I have no idea how it actually feels, you can only guess so much from seeing it.
Shinra seems to think it’s a bluff as well though, because she actually smirks back up at Akeno.
Honestly it’s kinda sexy on her.
“Oh?
Do you want to show me your best, Akeno-chan?” she fires back, not immediately pursuing the attack.
Besides me Saeko sits up straighter.
“That’s the second time…” she murmurs.
“Ara ara… I didn’t know your type, Tsubaki-chan.
Could it be you’re actually an M?” Akeno places a hand on her flushed cheek, her tongue slowly sliding across her upper lip, and talk about sexy!
Thank you Nanael for these close-up views of their faces while they’re bantering, this is great stuff!
I want Akeno to look at me like that!
She seems quite happy for the opportunity now, raising both her hands up as a huge magical circle spins to life above them.
“You can come begging to Akeno-neesama any time you want to indulge in this kind of play, Tsubaki-chan,” her chest heaves and she looks down at Shinra with ecstatically slitted eyes, the other girl braced and tense as dark stormclouds fill the upper half of the gymnasium.
With a yell of, “Fall thunder!” a sheet of lightning coruscates across the cloud with a reverberating peal of thunder, concentrating in one spot before a cataclysmic lightning bolt the width of a truck slams down towards the student council vice president!
Yet rather than showing fear, her expression is triumphant as she reacts with her own call of, “Mirror Alice!” spreading her arms and summoning an ornate silver-framed mirror in front of herself.
The lightning crashes into it, shattering the mirror… yet no lightning goes past it to touch Shinra, instead it gathers and swells into an enormous crackling sphere before blasting back up at Akeno with an even wider and more powerful looking strike, a cacophonous rumble of thunder transmitted through the crystal ball, and surely it would’ve rattled us in place if not for the barrier surrounding the gymnasium.
With a shriek, Akeno writhes in place, suspended in the air by her own lightning coursing through her, charring the white of her shrine maiden top black.
Amidst it all her body shimmers and then vanishes even before the lightning from that mirror finishes coursing through her, the remainder slamming into the roof of the gym and causing a spreading wave of energy to be seen coursing through the now visible barrier.
“Ohhh!” Nanael’s frantic voice jumps in.
“In a stunning reversal, the Thunder Priestess has been retired by her own thunder!
She’s being healed right now though, so don’t worry!
Congratulations to Tsubaki Shinra, completing Team Sitri’s sweep of the preliminary battles!” The view on the crystal ball shows Shinra standing there, a smug and self-satisfied look on her face.
“You were too naive, Akeno,” she says, before tossing her hair over her shoulder and striding out of the gym.
Holy fuck that was badass.
What a woman!
“That’s your next opponent, Saeko-chan,” Kaori says while we absorb what just happened.
“Think you can beat her?” “I won’t underestimate her like Akeno did,” Saeko says.
“Did you notice?
Even before the fight, Shinra was trying to goad Akeno into performing her biggest attack.
She scripted things from the start, and Akeno let herself get swept right into it.” “Yeah,” I nod in agreement, looking back the manipulation was pretty obvious, but I’m not sure I wouldn’t have fallen for it if I’d been in Akeno’s place.
“She’s someone you want to whittle down with small attacks, that mirror’s a perfect counter.
But now everyone knows she can do it, that’s a huge setback for her.” “She must not have been confident in beating Akeno normally,” Kaori guesses.
“It was bad luck for them to be paired against each other so early in the tournament, she had to show off her trump card just to get past the first hurdle.
I don’t think it’d be much use against how Saeko fights anyway, but she might have needed it against Nanael or Rias if she gets that far.” “I’m sure it can still work against normal attacks, but Akeno played herself perfectly for Shinra’s benefit there, she couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity,” I say as we all dissect the fight.
I might have to fight Meguri in the quarter finals, but Saeko is definitely fighting Shinra next so it’s much more of a relevant mental exercise to consider how that’s going to play out.
But speaking of?
“I’m up next,” I take a deep breath and then stand up off the gym mats, turning to face the girls.
“Wish me luck?” “Good luck, Jiro-kun,” Saeko says with a serious nod.
“If you lose we’re changing the team name,” Kaori adds her own motivation for me.
“Heh, I won’t lose,” I plaster on a confident grin and step out of the shed, walking over to the gymnasium and going in through the side door.
I go to take one side, standing over in the penalty shot area of one of the basketball courts.
Knowing everyone can probably see me through those crystal balls produces a feeling of nervousness.
Do I look dumb?
I turn up my lips a little, showing a confident smile and putting my hands in my jacket pockets.
Yeah, just casual and relaxed, quietly confident.
That’s the vibe I want to project.
I can do this!
I haven’t gotten any fresh new abilities since my inner world, the Demon of the Sixth Heaven, but I’ve been practicing hard not only with that but with my kung fu skills and my blizzard dance.
Training under enhanced gravity, sparring with Saeko… I bounce a little on the balls of my feet, rubber soles of my sneakers squeaking against the wooden floor.
I feel the difference, a lightness compared to the oppressive weight of magnified gravity I’ve gotten used to enduring both amidst daily life and my exercises.
It hasn’t been long enough to show any real changes in my physique, but when I flex my arm I can definitely feel more muscle underneath the fat at my bicep.
It’s the same all over.
I’ve never actually exercised or trained this hard in my life, but life and death supernatural events have managed to hook my motivation better than nebulous rewards of ‘being healthier’.
I’ve fought a devil before.
A giant chimera monster cannibal thing.
Maybe I didn’t do it all myself, maybe that fight was a panicked mess, but I’d still done it.
I’d fought skeletons too.
Now I’m going to fight another devil, a polite well-mannered student council treasurer, but still a devil.
Also a girl, I mentally add as the door to the girl’s locker room opens and Kusaka strides out to go take a spot on the other side of the gym.
I’ll want to be closer to her when we start, so I start walking from my own position, staying on my half but going right up to the line.
She looks back at me and smiles, her wings blossoming out behind her.
She’s already figured out her plan to take advantage of someone who can’t fly, huh?
“My team’s sweeping so far, senpai, and I’m not going to let down the president by breaking our streak,” she calls over, even her trash talk is polite though.
I don’t rate ‘senpai’ from most girls in the lower years.
I’m going to have to beat up a polite and cute younger girl.
I’m the worst, aren’t I?
But I don’t plan on going easy on her.
She’s a devil, she’s been involved with the supernatural far longer than I have.
She’s probably got all kinds of terrifying magic behind that innocent high school girl facade.
Besides I knew from the start most of the participants in this tournament were going to be girls, I’ve hardened my heart and internalised the value of true gender equality in preparation for this day.
“Well I’m sorry, but senpai’s going to have to teach his cute kouhai a rough lesson,” I grin back at her and put one fist into the other palm, squeezing down.
Unfortunately there’s no satisfyingly audible crack of my knuckles for emphasis at the conclusion of my badass boast, but I think it’s getting the right image across.
Her cheeks tinge pink and there’s a brief fluster in her voice, “When did you become such a ladies man, senpai?
You can save your flirting for the fallen angels when I send you to the nurse’s office!” she raises her voice and balls her fists, glaring at me.
What?
Oh shit, I called her cute, didn’t I?
It was meant to be condescending, not flirty!
I mean she is cute, like totally, there’s no word of lie there, but that’s not what I was going for!
“Just trying to throw you off your game, Reya-chan!” I’m in too deep, I just bluff my way through it, taking first name privileges and dropping the -chan on her as I point across the gym with a leering look on my face.
She stamps her foot and steps forward in reply, “Oh, Koneko-chan was right, you really are an enemy of women, senpai!” Hey she’s still calling me senpai!
“I’m definitely going to beat you, for everyone’s sake!” “And the Half-Orc Bandit Jiro Onano is opening things up by putting his sleazy moves on the Underworld Witch Reya Kusaka!” Nanael’s voice rings out from everywhere, it looks like we’re about to start, but if nothing else I did actually manage to goad Kusaka into coming closer, so it’s kind of a win for me?
The last fight was literally decided by psychological warfare, it’s established as a legitimate tactic!
My image remains the worst, but the glamour of victory will surely buff that right out!
“He’ll need more than crude pick-up lines if he wants to win over this devil’s sinful heart though,” Kusaka’s face turns almost adorably affronted at those words, her ire at least now split between me and Nanael, “Fighters ready, and start!” It’s go time.